There are a number of events that can occur in public and private buildings that rise to the level of an emergency crisis for which first responders, such as police officers, fire fighters and medical personnel, must be called on for assistance. These events can include armed intruders, burglary, acts of terrorism, fire, and injuries from one or more of these events or unrelated events. Often times, the damage and harm from these crisis events can be minimized or eliminated if first responders, individuals near the location of the crisis, and others are notified quickly, provided specific dynamic information, and, depending on the particular type of event, allowed to respond in accordance with their abilities.
As an example, in certain situations, such as a school, with sufficient information, individuals near the crisis may be allowed to exit the arena to avoid harm, while first responders may be notified of the existence of the crisis earlier and be able to take quick action to minimize the damage. The earlier first responders and those located near the crisis arena know of the crisis, the better chance that less damage and injury will occur.
An example of a notification system is a building fire alarm notification system, which is capable of notifying first responders or fire fighters and building occupants of the existence of a fire. These systems are well known and have been employed for many years at public and private locations, such as schools, libraries, hospitals, shopping malls, etc.
In general, fire alarm notification systems are utilized in large public or commercial buildings in which a significant number of individuals or occupants may be located at any given time. The typical fire alarm notification system provides for some or all of the following functions: detecting a fire (or providing individuals with the chance to notify others of the existence of a fire), notifying nearby occupants of the presence of a fire, notifying the fire department and other emergency personnel, and in some cases, operating certain fire safety functions, such as closing fire retardant doors, setting off the sprinkler system, etc.
Fire alarm notification systems often incorporate detection measures or devices to detect a fire, such as fire and smoke detectors. Additionally, manual fire alarm pull boxes may be placed at strategic locations around a building so that individuals can use the manual boxes, which may commence the notification process earlier than if the notification process was started using the automated fire and smoke detectors. The fire alarm notification systems are usually wired throughout a building so that whether a manual pull box is engaged, or a smoke detector detects smoke and sets off an alarm, occupants throughout the building are notified, fire safety functions can be initiated and the fire department can be automatically notified, usually through an approved central station dispatch or monitor.
To warn building occupants, for example, a siren or sound loud enough to indicate the presence of a fire hazard can be sounded throughout the building along with instructions to direct emergency evacuation. In this instance, the alarm sounds and building occupants understand that they must leave the building immediately, or move to a particular pre-approved location. Visual indicators of the fire emergency may also be employed in combination with the sound producing fire-warning devices. The most common devices employed include horns, bells, sirens, stroboscopic lights, and speakers.
Some private locations, such as homes and businesses incorporate fire alarm notification systems, security alarms and medical emergency notification systems, which likewise, attempt to prevent a security crisis or indicate that a security or medical emergency crisis has occurred, such as burglaries, unauthorized intrusions or other illegal activities. These security systems utilize cameras and sensors to determine if an intrusion has occurred and then send a signal that an intrusion has occurred. Many of these systems also allow the owner of the home or business (or at least the owner of the security system) to view the arena remotely and determine if a crisis has occurred or is occurring.
However, buildings and public locations that may be tens or hundreds of thousands of square feet in size, and may contain hundreds or thousands of occupants, need a more robust and dynamic security crisis notification system, for notifying occupants or individuals located at or near the vicinity of the security crisis or medical emergency. This is especially true for acts of terrorism or armed intruders, such as those that have occurred over the years at public schools and other public locations.
A first responder notification system used for acts of terrorism is needed to provide individuals at or near the emergency crisis arena an increased ability to quickly notify first responders (and any other predetermined groups of individuals) of the security crisis, including the general or specific location of the crisis, while also quickly notifying those at or near the vicinity of the ongoing crisis. Needed is an intelligent or smart command and control management and notification system that utilizes smart devices for providing robust dynamic information such as the precise location of the security crisis to first responders, along with providing selected data notifications to those at or near the crisis. Along those lines, there is a need for smart devices that can determine and provide particularized dynamic information using preloaded location information, artificial intelligence as necessary, along with the notification system, with the intent of providing fast, reliable information to first responders and occupants within the crisis vicinity.
There is also a need for a true life safety system that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, that monitors security, fire and/or medical threats incorporating smart components that supervise themselves or can be supervised remotely, for working conditions, including checking battery life and utilizing battery backup, watching for device disablement and tampering, along with other activities that might incapacitate the system. There is a need for smart devices in the threat alarm system that provide information gathering, along with redundancies, such as redundant communications, to prevent inaccurate information and attempts at tampering with the system.
There is further a need for a system that over time and because of the similarities to existing notification systems, building occupants and others could understand how the crisis system operates and be able to utilize the smart notification devices, for example smart phones, to properly be notified and to manually or automatically notify first responders and others of the ongoing crisis.
Further, since the response of individuals in a crisis area is different for a police emergency, a fire emergency and for a medical emergency, a system is needed that can address one or more of the different emergencies that arise separately or combined during a crisis. As such, there currently exists a need for a command and control crisis notification system, include dynamic smart devices, along with methods that minimizes the time from the inception of the crisis until providing notification and particular dynamic crisis data to the first responders, command groups and others, such as those in or near the emergency crisis. Such a crisis notification system will allow for faster reaction time by the first responders, and by others that may be attempting to escape the crisis arena, thereby reducing or eliminating the damage and harm to those in the vicinity of the crisis.
Additionally, there is a need for quick notification and the transmission of dynamic particular crisis information, including the general or specific location of the crisis, to the first responders and emergency authorities, along with notification and instructions to those in the vicinity of the crisis to reduce injury and death during a security crisis event. The present disclosure addresses the current shortcomings in the security crisis area.